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| Pres.Bachelet & Mr.Anand Sharma |
If there is a recession in India affecting the hotel industry, it was not visible on Tuesday at the Hotel Taj Mahal where the lobby was overflowing with people. So was the basement; the Diwan-i-Am located here is one of the very few banquet halls in Delhi duly sanitized and cleared for a PM event.
There were no outward signs that a visiting head of the state was in the hotel. The security- surely there must have been adequate, was totally invisible and the atmosphere was relaxed. A few official and tense looking people talking in Spanish animatedly gave away the only clue. Only a sharp eye would notice that some special and formal occasion was about to take place, with 96% men donning suits.
The event was certainly special. The First Lady, oops, the President of Chile Ms. Michelle Bachelet had arrived a day earlier for a 4 day visit and would be having lunch with about 200 special guests in Diwan-i-Am.
Preceding the lunch was the seminar she had with the business community, that ate almost an hour into the time of the other guests who had come only to taste the flavours of Chile. But Delhi-ites are used to delays caused by traffic jams and spent the extra time networking.
There were no speeches after she walked in, no anthems played-just great food with decent wines with a sprinkling of a music and dance performance by a young trio who looked Chilean, spoke Spanish and performed fusion- a pleasant substitute for sorbet in between courses- adding some spice to the Flavours of Chile and a dish for the eyes and ears. Perhaps unknown to most, the Chilean food flavours are quite spicy-including hot sauces which Chef Cristián Corea referred to as Chilean Curry and explained are a normal part of their cuisine, making them our cuisine cousins.
Taste of Chile
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| Menu |
The lunch made a good start with Valdivieso Brut (imported by Sovereign Impex). The fruity, lemony and fresh bubbly served at the perfect temperature did not disappoint- most were served the attractive looking cocktail made with strawberry crush with strawberry colour reminding of the Holi just gone by and adding a touch of extra crisp sweetness.
The Menu for the 5-course meal had been selected to showcase their various ingredients and regions of Chile and was broken down into appropriately titled courses:
Coast-to-Coast
The service started with the scallops wrapped in layers of salmon, served with salad of Quinoa (cereal grown in Latin America and I am told now in Himachal too) and avocado soup on the side. The two made a compatible couple and the Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2007 from Viña Picunche in Casablanca Valley (Importer: Dhall Foods) was a perfect condiment.
Surprisingly, the wine did not release much flavours or aromas at the correct serving temperature of around 10º C. But as it warmed up slightly in the glass, one could taste the tropical fruits and the crisp acidity. It was a relatively simple and easy drinking wine and the low alcohol of 12.5% was impressive. It was surprising to see it packaged in a plain, transparent bottle. Usually reserved for cheap, entry level wines, it also makes wines prone to light attack-which can be problematic in India. Incidentally, The Taj was very generous and efficient in the service and refills.
South Flavours
The sea bass with‘Chilean chutney’ on top, made from black olives, accompanied by cherry tomatoes and chopped Olives was a bit dry but with the corn cream added on, it was transformed into a delicious and a very healthy dish. However, pairing with the Picunche Pinot Noir helped neither the dish nor the wine. Made from organically grown grapes, the wine was still a bit too astringent and tannic and lacked the feminine seductive charm of a Burgundian Pinot. Perhaps, it had just traveled and was still bruised. Moreover, it was a little too overpowering for the light-bodied too. In fact, the dish perfectly dovetailed with the earlier served Sauvignon Blanc. I should have tried it perhaps with the lamb dish following.
Friendly Connection
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| The President's Table with Amb. Alfonso |
I chose to order Aubergine roll instead of the crispy pork leg as a thumbs down to red meat-both dishes came with chick-pea stew, a staple on many Indian dinner tables. The dish seemed to be an interesting and clever way to change the flavour of chick-peas as an accompaniment and not the protagonist. The Carmenere Reserve from Valdivieso was a perfect match even for this vegetarian dish and added to the charm and delight. The spiciness and soft tannins balanced by the acidity and the fruity taste of the wine forced me take a sip with every single morsel. Both the Chef and the lady Sommelier accompanying the entourage ought to be complimented for a delicious dish paired perfectly with wine.
Mapuche
I am glad I ordered the vegetarian-mushroom skewer dressed with Chilean curry as it was really enjoyable with the Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon. I have always recommended for vegetarians who are fond of the bold and powerful Cabernet Sauvignon to try matching the wine with a mushroom dish as it has enviable capability to tame the tannins.
Unfortunately, tannins are also the enemy of chillies and accentuate their flavour. This was a perfect hot dish for an Indian palate but the wine did create resistance in the mouth because of chillies trying to fight the tannins. Again, I found it going better with my Carmenere which was spicier and less tannic. All the same, this was the best dish and the best wine of the afternoon by a mile, and the Indians would love the Mapuche Merkén, the Chilean Curry- to spice up the food and give their cuisine an interesting different touch at various levels.
Sweet hug
I am sure the chef and the sommelier who must have sweet-hugged each other after getting compliments from several guests. They chose a perfect name for the last combo of Sweet rice cream and chocolate cake and berries sherbet with Artemisia Late Harvest from Viña El Aromo. The dessert wine made from Muscat grapes. Very fresh and sweet (tasted like 100-120 gms/L of residual sugar) wine with a well balanced acidity, this wine could double up as a dessert by itself but matched the desserts equally well.
The leisurely lunch reminded me of the big lunches in Italy and Spain where you enjoy them in lieu of siesta and then need the siesta. Taj did a superb job with uncountable numbers of waiters milling around and looking after each guest-but one has come to expect the exceptional service and on an occasion like this they had pulled out all stops to prove worthy of their reputation.
The only disappointment was the absence of a short speech that the guests, especially those who had not been to the seminar upstairs, would have enjoyed. The pleasant music and dance routine, designed to underline the Chile-India friendship was no substitute- perhaps it might have been the security issue that dissuaded her from making the speech, even without which it was a lunch the guests would talk about for days.
Subhash Arora |